Improvement in grain-car unloaders



G.M.-MOULTON. GRAIN CAR U NLOADER.

No.181,465.. Patented Aug. 2z.*1's7s..

NJETERS, PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE M. MOULTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO HIMSELF AND JOSEPH T. MOULTON.

IMPROVEMENT m GRAIN-CAR UNLOADERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 18 l ,465, dated August 22, 1876 5 application filed June 26, 1876.

To allaohom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, GEORGEM. MOULTON, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Grain-Oar Unloader, of which the following is a specification:

Figure 1 is a plan. Fig. 2 is an elevation in section, taken online 90 a: and y y in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the track and rollers.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

My invention relates to an apparatus for unloading grain in bulk from railroad-cars; and it consists in the employment of two sets of racks, so arr'anged that the first rack is operated by a crank placed on a shaft which receives its power from a convenient motor,,the said rack giving motion to a pinion placed on a shaft which supports a larger wheel, that communicates a reciprocating motion to a longer rack supported on suitable frame-work, and connected with drag-ropes attached to scoops within the. cars. The invention also consists in the peculiar arrangement of the supports for the guiding-pulleys in the car.

A is the driving-shaft, which may take its power from any convenient motor, and which is supported on a suitable frame-work, B. (J is a crank fixed to the shaft A, and is connected, by,means of the connecting-rod E, to a rack, D, which slides in suitable ways on the frame B. F is a shaft, having journalboxeson the frame B, and carrying a pinion, a, which is placed so as to engage with the rack D. A large pinion, b, is attached to the shaft F, which meshes into a'rack, 0. Crossbars d, carrying rollers e, are attached to the rack c, and run on a track consisting of a pair of stringers, m, which may be armedwith an iron track. Planks n are secured to the under side of the stringers m, forming a box or way for the ropes. The rack c has at either end sections of rods or pipes 0, attached by any suitable couplings, which are as long as the combined length of the cars to be operated on. f f are ropes, which are attached to eyes 10 in the rack c and pipes o, somewhat more than a half cars length apart. The ropes f run over the pulleys g g, and down to where they run into the car, when they run under the pulleys h h and forward horizontally into the car, being slightly deflected laterally by the rollers z i. The ropes run over the pulleys j j, and are attached to the scoops k.

The pulleys j j are supported by pivoted bars I l, which are arranged something like the well-known lazy-tongs. By removing one of the pins which hold this support to the frame-work it may car and out of the way.

A number of holes may be drilled in the bars I, so that the support may be held rigidly at any distance out from the frame-work.

A hopper, H, which leads to the elevator-leg I, is placed conveniently near the track, so that the grain may be readily discharged from the scoop k into it.

Two scoops are worked in each car, and a number of cars may be unloaded at the same time, and from both sides of the apparatus,

by providing a number of sets of drag-ropes.

Power is communicated to the shaft A in The revolution of the crank 0 produces a reciprocating motion in any convenient way.

the rack D, which, in turn, moves the pinion a, shaft F, and pinion b with a reciprocating rotary motion. From the pinion b motion is given to the rack c, which is as much greater than the motion in the rack D'as the pinion b is larger than the pinion a. As the rack 0 moves, the drag-ropes f, which are attached,

are alternately drawn, each time bringing the scoop k to the car-door, where its contents may be discharged into the hopper 'H. I

Having thus described my invention, I

claim. as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A grain-car unloader provided with two racks, O D, connected by pinion with the same shaft F, the latter rack operated from drive-shaft and the former connecting with unloading mechanism, substantially as shown and described. 7

. 2. The combination of the bars I l, pulleys j j, and frame B, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

GEORGE M. MOULTON.

Witnesses:

GEORGE W. MoULToN, THOMAS Bowm.

be pushed back out of the 

